By Katherine Abayomi
In a landmark judgment, the Appeal Court in Port Harcourt has set aside the Federal High Court’s decision that sacked Local Government Chairmen elected under the All Progressive Congress (APC) in 2015. The Appeal Court’s three-man panel, led by Justice A.H. Lager-Balogun, criticized the Federal High Court judge for refusing to hear the applicants’ jurisdictional issues and join them in the matter.
The court declared that the embattled Local Government Chairmen and their councilors were duly elected and that the earlier judgment sacking them was null and void. However, the court declined to make consequential orders regarding the vacancy in the 23 Local Government Councils.
Counsel to the embattled Chairmen, James Kalu-Momg, explained that the judgment reconfirms the duly elected Chairmen of 2015. He stated that they would study the judgment to determine their next course of action.
One of the reinstated Chairmen, Dr. Reginald Ukwuoma, confirmed that the Appeal Court’s unanimous judgment notified the infamous judgment of Justice Lambo Akanbi, which sacked the duly elected Council Chairmen and their councilors in 2015.
The development is seen as a significant victory for the APC and the reinstated Chairmen, who had been battling to regain their positions since the Federal High Court’s judgment in 2015.